National Bucs Perception
December 10th, 2018
“Hey Dirk, did you know we have nothing to lose?”
It is always interesting to Joe how the national NFL honks, firmly entrenched in their Manhattan condos or the Boston bungalows, perceive the Bucs from what they consider the other side of the globe.
(To some of these guys, Tampa may as well be Subic Bay. For example, when has NFL strongman Roger Goodell ever been in Tampa outside of a Super Bowl? Commissioners in the NHL and MLB regularly come to Tampa annually if for no other reason than to show their faces in a city that houses one of their teams and to tip Uber drivers at TPA. [Yeah, yeah, yeah. The Rays play in that friggin’ warehouse in St. Petersburg, Joe gets it.] No, Joe doesn’t give a damn about what the NBA commissioner does. He may as well pass gas in a filthy stall in some rundown westside Chicago bar for all Joe cares.)
Take Boston-based Albert Breer of theMMQB.com. The few times he comes up for air and realizes his head is not up Urban Meyer’s backside in Columbus, Breer is all about Boston. Only Neanderthals and those not smart enough to find gainful employment in New England wouldn’t choose to live in Massachusetts in his eyes.
You can read between the lines how on his radar (Joe will highlight his highlight) the Bucs are in his latest dispatch on theMMQB.com site he inherited from Peter King.
It might sound crazy, but I think the Saints winning the way they did, in messy conditions, against a feisty opponent with nothing to lose, was pretty impressive. For a good half of Sunday’s game in Tampa, it sure looked like New Orleans was going to let the previous week’s Cowboys loss beat them twice. Down 14-3 at the half, the Saints shut the Bucs out in the second half. Over those 30 minutes, they sacked Jameis Winston three times, picked him off once and held him to 83 yards on 6-of-17 passing, while limiting the Bucs to 29 yards on the ground on seven carries. And the offense did wind up coming around in time. What did it prove? That the Saints can be more than a schoolyard bully. “A lot of times we forget that this game is not perfect,” Alvin Kamara told reporters afterwards. “A lot of people expect us to come out and be perfect, but that’s just not reality. People make mistakes. We may start slow sometimes, but it’s when adversity hits, it’s how you respond to it.”
Yeah, nothing to lose. Only their final last-gasp of a wild card run and only the potential jobs of every coach on the staff not to mention maybe their own employment.
Nah, nothing to lose. A team barrelling towards the top pick in the draft, that’s all.
Nothing to lose.
In other words, Breer may as well be saying, “You clowns in Florida are such rubes I don’t even bother with knowing your record. Meanwhile, I have to go take a cold shower after I had my morning heavy-panting fantasy lovefest with Dwayne Haskins, so pardon me while you rednecks go hang out at your non-stop strip malls in your weirdo Mickey Mouse state.”
December 10th, 2018 at 10:42 am
Given the history of this franchise, can you blame them?
December 10th, 2018 at 10:43 am
Why should anyone outside of Tampa care about the bucs who are the worst franchise in the entire NFL and have the face of the franchise be thought of by some as a serial sexual predator. That is how some people think of Tampa and the bucs. Steve Duemig is someone who is greatly missed on the airwaves and could be a voice that is needed in this dark time in tampa
December 10th, 2018 at 10:47 am
If he only knew how much we care about this team…I’m tired of our team being a laughing stock and was ready to fight half of Steelers fans at Ray Jay that Monday night before being thrown out…I am willing to put it all on the line and why because I care! Because I want to see the same passion in this team as a lot of us fans do! Like we do at our own jobs to take some of our hard earned money to come support this team. I don’t care about the outsiders I just want our team to be able to punch people square in the mouth to victory like we did our Super Bowl year and brought tears to my eyes. Go Bucs!
December 10th, 2018 at 10:52 am
“picked him off once”
And he also failed to mention that was a meaningless hail Mary with one second left in the game.
Obviously, this irrelevant nobody didn’t see the game and just read off the stat sheet to give his inane opinion.
December 10th, 2018 at 10:52 am
lol….i dont blame him…..as a bucs fan, i knew the season was over when the giants beat us….lol…..
last week, before the saints game folks were saying, if dirk wins out he should be retained…..
then this morning @bonzai said, if wins 2 of the next 3 he should stay…..after we lose vs the raven, that’ll turn into, if he can beat the falcons he should be retained….lol…..
KRIS RICHARD 4 HC!!!!!
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!…#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!…GO BUCS!!!
December 10th, 2018 at 10:56 am
The Bucs haven’t been good since Chucky left. That’s just a fact. Losing has become a way of life for the Bucs. The new season always looks good in July but by October things have gone to pot. They only have 3 million left over the salary cap and still can’t get to be a winning team. The HC and The GM need to go. Too much money spent on unproductive players and too many draft choices not working out. The Bucs need a re boot. Dungy inherited something similar to this and it took 3 years to make them into a winner. That can happen again. There are a few good pieces in place to build around there needs to be some new blood and new thinking at the top.
December 10th, 2018 at 10:56 am
87
i hear ya man…..i share your passion and pain….
ive gotten kicked out a few times…..all loses as well….lol….
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!…#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!…GO BUCS!!!
December 10th, 2018 at 11:00 am
they’ll be some major changes because the attendance was horrible again….glazer might as well give tickets away or sell to falcons fans because bucs fans will be out numbered anyways…..
if the glazers want to win, they’ll make changes and hire KRIS RICHARD!!!!!
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!…#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!…GO BUCS!!!
December 10th, 2018 at 11:03 am
D-Bag included 1 pick in his analysis. How come nobody is talking about the fact that Dirk will not let 6’5″ 240 pound Jameis do a QB sneak from the 1 or on 4th and 1, yet Sean Payton allows 5’9″ 180-190 pound Drew Brees to do QB sneaks. Instead we run Barber up the middle for no gain, then have our gigantic, athletic QB drop back and score the TD to Brate, awesome play right? Wrong! Instead of firing off the line like the rest of the line, Dotson somehow gets pancaked by Rankins and falls onto our QB’s knee. I’m really not so down on the play call to be honest, the end result is what was lacking in the red zone last year. However, what is Koetter’s deal with his defiance to run QB sneaks? Jameis was masterful at FSU. Just throwing that out, it is not getting talked about and Jameis was never the same after that, almost like he couldn’t step to throw-which would make the ball sail.
December 10th, 2018 at 11:05 am
I could care less what they think in Boston…..about anything…..and FYI their beloved team got beat on a last second desperate play that we see failing all the time….except for this time.
December 10th, 2018 at 11:16 am
I’m not giving this team one more cent until they fix the coaching staff.
Fire them all now including Licht and Dumaz Winston.
This team needs a wash starting at the top. I’d fire the owners if I could.
December 10th, 2018 at 11:17 am
Fire the entire coaching staff including Licht, most of the OLine and Winston.
December 10th, 2018 at 11:18 am
Chucky has a couple good seasons here including the Super Bowl run. This team just sucks more often than not with a few miracle seasons sprinkled in.
December 10th, 2018 at 11:18 am
Nationally, the Bucs are a joke, barely a whimper in mainstream coverage. Winston is not respected, feared, or sought for obvious reasons, and he’s split the Bucs fan base by his own selfishness and is one reason (of many) not to go to a Bucs game anymore. Breer is right, Joe is wrong. All the local media and those who wish they were legitimate sports media people don’t get it. There is a huge hole in professional, serious coverage of sports in this town. To Breer’s take, the Bucs were for all intents and purposes out of any seriousness after the CLE game, certainly the first CAR game. Winston, who SHOULD be a leader of this team cannot lead it, and probably won’t be able to going forward (note Ryan Jensen response when Winston had the gall to get on him about his actions? Ha! Shut up Jameis. Would not have seen any center do that to Brees, Wilson, or even Goeff–who are leaders respected by their teams). Next, the Bucs lose multiple games for multipe reasons–over multipe seasons. This team wents into a nosedive in November last year with the Uber investigation start. Strong coaches and other leaders failed to right the ship after the CLE game while other teams with warts who are contenders righted theirs–DAL and CHI for example. Going forward, all arrows point down on the Bucs. No franchise QB to develop, probably no GM, no HC, and another bleed off of the ticket buying fanbase. I think that is what Breer meant–the season was lost really before Thanksdiving, probably by Halloween, and arguably with Winston and Uber revelations last year. I think the coffin door was closed on Koetter about three weeks ago. Gotta side with Breer on this one. His writings are also professional, not common to bathroom wall street talk.
December 10th, 2018 at 11:19 am
jjbuc- It’s the great mystery, the QB sneak. Brady just went over 1,000 yards rushing last week and it wasn’t the 18 yard variety that got him there. That’s right, he racked up that yardage in short-yardage and goalline situations.
Why does anybody get upset over out-of-towner’s criticisms?! We suck! What makes our brand of sucking so significant is in the manner in which we do so. Every week it’s something new. We are the kings of creativity in losing year to year. Being a Bucs fan requires a special devotion, a thin line between fanaticism and sado masochism. Every year, we’re lured in by the hope. Yet, in the back of our minds, we KNOW it’s a house of cards waiting to fall. We hope, then we prepare for the nut-punch.
The “old-timers” know what I’m talking about, you know, the “before Dungy” era?! Yea, you have to be out of your mind to be a fan THIS long.
Well, here we are again, another losing season, more upheaval, and more HOPE for the future.
And we wonder why other fans treat us so!
December 10th, 2018 at 11:24 am
Licht’s Out is a poor man’s ( almost destitute ) Mike Tannenbaum. Dirk is on par with Joe Philbin…good coordinator lacking NFL head coaching “chops”. I wish them both all the best and Godspeed in their next endeavors.
December 10th, 2018 at 11:29 am
Will never forget when I was in junior high school a nice kid in my class asked me who my favorite football team was. I said the Bucs. He said, no who is you favorited pro football team. He was not trying to be funny. He moved to FL with his family from Pittsburgh and had honestly never heard of the Bucs. Perfect example of what others outside and even some inside the state think of the Bucs.
December 10th, 2018 at 11:30 am
The nation loved the Bucs in their early 2000’s heyday. When you don’t make the playoffs for 11 seasons in a row – you deserve to be irrelevant.
December 10th, 2018 at 11:32 am
I do not feel a bit sorry for Koetter or Licht as they are millionaires doing what they do. They will be fine. I feel bad for ticket buying Bucs fans who have spent so much hard earned money year after year only to be disappointed with biblically bad football and organization, and players like Andrew Adams and Riley Bullough who may never get another chance when the house is cleaned this year..
December 10th, 2018 at 11:33 am
Licht=sucks
Dirk=sucks
Glazers=sucks
Winston=sucks
Start over.
December 10th, 2018 at 11:35 am
Watched NFL Network all morning and found it interesting but not surprising to hear the talking heads take on our game. All 5 “experts” picked the Saints. Their cyber analyst picked the Saints, and the fans picked the Saints 96% to win the game. Not once did anyone mention that we actually have handed New Orleans 2 of its last 3 losses. There was a line that the Saints didn’t want to get swept by the Bucs….No information that we still lead the league in total offense. Or that New Orleans actually has a poor record at Ray Jay over a number of years, or that Brees performance outside in bad conditions is much worse than when he is in his beloved dome.
No, what we got was captain obvious analysis and probably 80% of the content was Saints related. We were a fitzmagic story earlier in the year, but now?
Same ol Bucs to people outside Tampa. Won’t change til we make it change.
December 10th, 2018 at 11:40 am
Saints and quite a few other teams can do what the Bucs have failed to do all season long…MAKE IN GAME ADJUSTMENTS. it just took them a half to see what we were doing and capitalize from there on. 6-10 here we come.
December 10th, 2018 at 11:57 am
We’re so irrelevant that from the fiery shores of the Cuyahoga, Browns fans can look south and feel sorry for us.
Gregg (yes, with two Gs) Williams > Dirk Koetter. Let that sink in for a minute.
December 10th, 2018 at 12:07 pm
What has this team done in the last decade and a half to earn any national respect?
The Bucs were relevant the first three weeks of the season, then the most maddeningly inconsistent heavy petting QB in the league came back from suspension and the locker room collapsed.
December 10th, 2018 at 12:12 pm
Now that the Browns have Baker and The Raiders are getting a new home in Vegas… Is there any Franchise that sucks more or has less going for them than us?? I don’t think there is. No respect given to us, but none deserved.
December 10th, 2018 at 12:18 pm
You clowns in Florida are such rubes… so pardon me while you rednecks go hang out at your non-stop strip malls in your weirdo Mickey Mouse state.
—————–
Don’t forget the meth. My friend from Boston just shakes his head at me and keeps asking when I’m moving back up north. Apparently the stupidity is starting to rub off on me. Example 1 I’m a Bucs fan.
December 10th, 2018 at 12:48 pm
Who cares?
Way bigger issues with this team than getting butthurt over some writer who doesn’t think much of a team that has sucked out loud for 97% of the last decade.
December 10th, 2018 at 2:22 pm
Dusty… glad I caught your post…indeed Steve Dumig is missed on the air waves sorting out the state of the Bucs… agree or disagree the man spoke passionately about what he believed m
December 10th, 2018 at 2:28 pm
I can’t speak for the national pundits elsewhere.
I am a transplanted Yankee born in Chicago but I have deep, deep roots in the old southland. The perception of a bunch rubes here in Tampa is not that widespread by ordinary people who also happen to be football fans.
They probably compare us to Cleveland more often than we would like though. I remember when the Saints were known as the “Ain’ts” and their fans wore paper bags on their heads when attending home games.
Winning will cure that just as it did the last time the Lombardi Trophy resided here.
December 10th, 2018 at 2:45 pm
Shame on you for this article Joe. You’re a writer for the Bucs for crying out loud. Find something better to write about than national media not knowing anything about the Bucs. Wish NHL wasn’t the most non popular sport in US so the Bolts could get some more props.
December 10th, 2018 at 2:51 pm
DB55
Example 2 We don’t have coaches and QBs that deflate balls.
Tell your friend to take all the Boston and New York d&uchbags back. Can’t stand em.
December 10th, 2018 at 4:28 pm
I live in the PNW and the Bucs simply don’t matter. You wish people compared the Bucs to Cleveland but they don’t. Cleveland is fun and funny. A lot of people pull for the Browns around the country. The Bucs are more like the Bills. People just don’t care.
This shouldn’t be so surprising. I was just in the Keys two weeks ago. The sporting tourist stores had gear from several FL pro teams. No Bucs gear. And do you look at the stands, no one is at the games. Tampa doesn’t even care about the Bucs. Honestly, ownership should sell and move the team.
December 10th, 2018 at 8:19 pm
The Bucs are the NBA’s Sacramento Kings. If you don’t know about the Sacramento Kings well, there you go……………………
December 10th, 2018 at 8:54 pm
Mike Bibby and Ron Artest. Is it bad that those are the only two Sacramento Kings players in history that I can name?
December 11th, 2018 at 12:20 am
@Patrick,
Yes you left out Chris Webber, Mitch Richmond and Reggie Theis.